


I‘ll be there

by DreamDrop



Series: The bodyguard and his protégé [4]
Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: (okay first REAL kiss), Auguste is mentioned, Damen is a bodyguard, Damen was Laurent‘s babysitter/bodyguard, First Kiss, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Laurent is a rich guy, M/M, Nicaise is the cause of any grey hair of Laurent, POV Damen (Captive Prince), age gap, cuties in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25284706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamDrop/pseuds/DreamDrop
Summary: Damen loves Laurent. That‘s the fact of his life. He would always be there for Laurent, even if he didn‘t need him anymore.
Relationships: Damen/Laurent (Captive Prince)
Series: The bodyguard and his protégé [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1834633
Comments: 8
Kudos: 146





	I‘ll be there

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my dear reader. Just something small and fluffy to, hopefully, bring a smile to your face. Have fun.

"Damianos, help me."

Damen contemplated to ignore the order of his employer, or, to be correct, the younger brother of his employer. However, he knew that Laurent would murder him if he disregarded him now. How Laurent always got himself in that kind of situation was beyond his comprehension.

He turned around and saw how the blond man was being pestered by three obviously drunk guys. It almost looked amusing, considering the fact that Laurent didn't even bat an eyelash while he had the arm of guy number one twisted on his back.

"It doesn't look as if you need my help, Sir," Damen observed.

"You're my bodyguard, aren't you, Damianos?"

It was true and Damen sighed while he squared his shoulders, glared at the three guys and shielded Laurent from further advances. They hurried of, almost tripping over their feet. 

Laurent brushed a speck of dust from his jacket. His blond hair fell in his face, glowing in the flickering light of the club. He fit in here just perfectly in his expensive suit. Only his immaculate appearance made him stand out.

Okay, Damen had to admit, he knew exactly how Laurent always got himself in these situations. The man was just too beautiful for his own good.

"Thank you for finally deigning to do your job, Damianos. Next time, I'll try to schedule an appointment with your company. Oh wait, I already did." Laurent glared at him, his blue eyes almost sparkling in the dim lights.

At least they were in the lounge part of the club, they didn't have to shout to hear each other. The music was only a thumping beat in the background.

Laurent's sarcasm was as scathing as always. Damen almost sighed again. 

"Once upon a time you were so cute," he mumbled while guiding Laurent to one shielded seating arrangement in the back of the lounge.

"What was that?" His protégé looked up to him, his eyebrows drawn together.

"Nothing, Sir. Now, what do you want me to do?"

"Get him out of here. I have no idea how he even got here." Laurent waved his hands at the group of people, lounging in different stages of undress on the expensive seats. 

Damen eyed the bottle of, undoubtedly very expensive, whiskey, which sat on a glass table. He wanted a drink. But he was here to do his job, namely, making Laurent happy.

So, he would wade through the pile of drunk teenagers and drag the charge of his protégé out of here if he had to.

Nicaise was so out of it, he didn't even protest when Damen lifted him in his arms. His head lolled back and he stared at Damen through glassy eyes.

"Wow. You are damn hot." Only the slowness of his speech betrayed how drunk he was. There were no tumbled words, no slur, not even a hiccup. 

For a morbid moment, Damen admired his ability to conceal his state.  
"I would let you fuck me anytime." Okay, that was nothing Damen wanted to hear from the teenager.

"Nicaise, it's me and you better don't let Laurent hear that. He might fire me if he knew you said something like that to me, even if you are drunk as a skunk."

"Damen?" Nicaise sounded surprised.

"Yes."

"Fuck. Is Laurent here?"

Damen sighed. "Obviously."

"Fuck."

That's what Damen wanted to say too. He didn't have to look at Laurent to know how the blond man looked in that moment. 

Laurent had the astounding ability to look calm and collected and, at the same time, giving you the feeling that you might be murdered at any moment.

Nicaise hid his face in Damen's chest, something Damen would have liked to do too. But he was the adult here. He needed to make sure that Nicaise came home in one piece without Laurent ripping his head off. 

The younger of the de Vere brothers only shook his head with an icy look in the direction of Nicaise's friends.

They made their way out of the club. Laurent handling the security personnel. He showed them his own ID as well as Nicaise's. 

Nicaise’s real ID, not the fake one he used for this establishment, and immediately they stopped pestering Damen, who was beyond grateful. He walked out on the curb towards their car.

"Damen, I think I need to vomit. If you don't want puke all over you, you better set me down." Nicaise looked up to him. That he hadn't insulted Damen yet was proof enough that he was serious. 

Damen sat him down on the concrete, passed him a vomit bag and held his hair back from his face while Nicaise gaged. He rubbed Nicaise's back up and down as he sat beside him.

"Now, that is the most undignified view I ever had the misfortune of witnessing." Laurent's cold voice reached Damen's ears and he looked up to see the man stand beside them, frowning. Nicaise lifted a hand and flipped him off.

Laurent only rolled his eyes and looked at Damen. "I called for an Uber. They will be here shortly." Damen nodded. Grateful that he had his eyes on his charge again. 

Laurent might be able to hold his own against most people but still, Damen got nervous whenever he lost track of him.

For the whole car ride, he took care of Nicaise while Laurent shrouded himself in icy silence. Not even the driver dared to open his mouth. 

Damen smiled at the guy wearily when they reached the estate. Laurent tipped him off generously when they got out.

Nicaise had reached the whining phase. That went down rather badly with Laurent, who walked inside without another word and slammed the door behind them. 

"We will talk tomorrow. Now you go to bed. I hope you'll have the worst hangover on this green earth tomorrow." Laurent gritted his teeth, a muscled ticked in his jaw, otherwise he looked unaffected. His tone cool, controlled and indifferent.

Damen knew him better. Nicaise knew him better, too. As a result, he did exactly what Laurent wanted and went to his room. 

Laurent's shoulders relaxed the smallest bit. He looked up to Damen. "What?“  
"Nothing. I just think you could use a cup of tea."

Laurent was silent for a moment and Damen knew his charge contemplated disagreeing just to be contrary. But then he saw the slightest nod. "Yes. I will be in my office."

Damen nodded, smiled at him and went to the kitchen. He listened to the click clack of Laurent's shoes on the stone floor as he went to his office.

While preparing the cup of ginger tea, he thought about Laurent, like always. He remembered the first time he ever saw him, only eight years old, an orphan, clinging to his twelve years older brother, looking afraid and sad.

Damen, then 18 years old, freshly appointed as his caretaker/bodyguard had lost his heart to the child immediately. He swore himself, he would take care of him until Laurent either didn't need or didn't want him anymore.

Now, 15 years later, he was still by Laurent's side although Laurent seemed to grow more distant with every passing day. 

Sometimes Damen missed the old times when Laurent clung to him like a little monkey, wanted him to read just one last story before going to sleep or pestered him to go to the museum together. 

He missed how Laurent would creep into his bed after a nightmare whenever Auguste was not at home, which was most of the time. He missed how Laurent would proudly show him his full mark on yet another exam or how Laurent asked him, shyly, to teach him how to drive.

Most of all he missed how Laurent looked at him with love, affection and admiration in his eyes. 

He still remembered how Laurent, who had just turned 10, asked him, "Miss Lacroix told us today that she would be getting married. You know what that means?" 

Damen had shaken his head with a smile on his lips.  
"That means that she will be together with the person she loves most forever. When I am a grown up, I am going to marry you, Damen."

Yes, those times were definitively over. Damen couldn't imagine Laurent ever using the words "Marry" and "Damen" in the same sentence now. 

Laurent calling him Damen was a thing from the past, just as much as Laurent wanting to marry him.

It broke his heart a bit that their relationship was so strained. He knew that Laurent's infatuation with him was only a temporary children's crush. 

He wasn't surprised that Laurent grew out of it, in fact it was better for them both. Damen was 10 years older than his charge and he had a job to do. It wouldn't do for him to sleep with a client.

He could admit to himself that he liked Laurent, a lot. 

He didn't need to work as a bodyguard anymore. His company had taken off and now he was the owner of one of the biggest bodyguard agencies in the country.

But he still couldn't let go of his charge. Not of Laurent, who had cried in his arms, laughed on his shoulders and drooled on him in his sleep.

Damen could admit to himself that he was head over heels for the young man, but he would never ever take action. He would keep his distance, respecting Laurent's wishes until he told him he wasn't needed anymore.

He took the tea and went to Laurent's office. What he saw caught the breath in his throat. 

Laurent stood at the window, his suit jacked abandoned on the chair, cravat lying on the desk. The pristine, white shirt accentuated the V-shape of his upper body. He stopped his gaze from travelling lower. 

Not for the first time Damen bemoaned the fact that this perfect human being was out of reach of him.

He placed the cup on the desk. "Can I do something else for you, Sir?"

"Yes.“ He paused and Damen knew that whatever came out of his mouth next wouldn’t please him. "Please, keep this a secret from Auguste, Damianos."

Damen was surprised because Laurent told Auguste everything. His big brother was Laurent's whole world.

"You want me to keep it a secret from Auguste that we found your cousin almost passed out in a club, with a fake ID?"

"Yes." Laurent turned around. The first two buttons of his shirt were open. His pale throat exposed. He looked delicious. Damen imagined, only for a second, how he would bite and suck the pale skin until a bruise would bloom.

Damen gritted his teeth. Over the years Auguste and he became close friends. He would even dare to say that Auguste was his closest friend beside Nikandros.

"Sir, if your brother asks me straight forward, I don't think I can lie to him. And not because I wouldn't cover for you."

"I know. You are a horrible liar, Damianos. But he won't ask you something this specific. Just don't report it to him. Please." 

Damen's jaw almost hit the floor. He could count the times Laurent had said please in the last five years on his hands.

"Don't look so surprised. I know how to politely ask for a favor. You taught me how, for a whole afternoon, if you remember."

Of course, Damen remembered. How could he ever forget? Laurent had been nine years old at that time, looking like an angel and too shy to talk to strangers. Thus, Damen helped him practice the most important polite phrases.

"Of course, I remember. You were so cute. Such a good child." He smiled fondly. Laurent stared at him, his cheeks rosy. "Stop it, Damianos. You are only joking."

"I am not joking, Sir. You were the cutest, sweetest child I ever had the pleasure of meeting. Always clinching to me, never defiant, but so intelligent you sometimes gave me whiplash. Gods, sometimes I miss these times." Damen watched Laurent taking a step towards him.

"You do?" Laurent sounded uncertain. A state Damen didn't see him in for years. Laurent was always in control, self-confident and unyielding.

"Yes, very much so. Now, I will leave you to it. Pallas will take over for the night. If something happens, I will be in my room."

Laurent was by his side in three long strides. His legs were to die for, that was not the first time Damen had thought that.

"No. Don't try to distract me, Damianos. This conversation was very interesting. I'd like to finish it."

Damen looked down at the blond man. "What is there to finish, Sir?"

"Is that the reason you stay by my side?"

"I don't know what you mean." Damen averted his gaze. He didn't want to be interrogated by Laurent de Vere. The man was no easy opponent and Damen was weak when Laurent was involved.

"You know exactly what I mean. I know that I am the only client you still guard yourself, Damianos. I know that your agency is worth more than the papers publish and they are writing about a multimillion company. Are you by my side because you mourn my childhood?" 

Laurent was so close Damen could feel his body heat. It was delicious torture.

"No. That's not the reason." Damen clenched his fists at his side.

"Then what is it?" Laurent's fingers brushed against his arm and Damen felt how his heart was torn apart. He looked in the blue eyes of the person he loved most in the whole world.

"Do you really need to ask?" He had thought that it was obvious, that HE was obvious. Everybody always told him he was transparent. He had assumed Laurent kept his distance because he knew of Damen's feelings.

But now he wasn't so sure anymore. Laurent looked up to him, his face for once unguarded. The uncertainty and worry plain to see. "Yes. I need to know, Damen."

To hear the familiar nickname fall from those perfectly shaped lips so naturally, gave Damen a rush like nothing else.

"If you insist on this, Sir, I'll have to quit."

Laurent looked as if Damen had slapped him. He reeled back, almost stumbling over the leg of a chair before his desk. The shock written all over his beautiful face. "What?"

"If you insist, I'll tell you, but after you know, I can't continue working for you or your family. Not personally at least."

Laurent gritted his teeth and straightened his shoulders. "Very well." Damen knew this tone, he knew this expression and he prepared himself for the pain. 

"It might be better if we separated, anyway. I wanted to talk to you about it for the last months. As you seem to have put a lot of thought in this matter, you might as well tell me. Why did you stay by my side up until now?"

It hurt. It was very painful to hear Laurent speak about separating so casually. As if it didn't affect him even in the slightest. As if all those memories were nothing to him.

"Very well," Damen repeated. He observed Laurent's face closely. 

"I stayed by your side because I love you, Laurent de Vere. I love you so much my heart aches every time I see you, but whenever I don't see you, I am in anguish. I would give my life for you over and over again if it was necessary." He paused.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, Sir. I will go pack my things. I will appoint Makedon to take over my day shifts. Pallas will stay in the night shift."

Laurent stared at him in shocked silence. 

This was the first time Damen had ever witnessed Laurent being speechless. If he hadn't just experienced how his heart shattered in thousand pieces, he would have felt smug.

"Wait."

Damen didn't want to see this beautiful face right now. He reached for the door handle. "Don't worry, I won't report tonight's incident to your brother. Not the one with Nicaise and not what just happened." 

He opened the door, but before he could leave, one pale hand slammed it shut again.

He felt Laurent beside him.  
"Say it again, Damen." Laurent's voice was soft, tender even, just like his hand on Damen's upper arm.

"I love you, Laurent." 

What did it matter, if he told him once again? If it would make Laurent happy, he would repeat it a thousand times a day until the day he died, even if Laurent never reciprocated.

"I love you too, Damianos Vallis. You have no idea for how long."

Before Damen could fully comprehend what Laurent had just told him, he was being turned around and then he felt two hands in his hair and soft lips pressed against his own.

There was no time to question what happened here. He engulfed Laurent in his arms, drew him close to his chest and returned the kiss passionately.


End file.
